And so to the point about the trip to Stanfords.
The Swiss Alps is the latest in the Cicerone Series of World Mountain Range Guides. These are no pocket guide books but rather works of reference that provide you with a massive amount of information, all in one place, that can be used to plan a holiday or a trek. This still relatively new range also cover’s Kev’s book on the Pyrenees and Chris Townsend’s book on Scotland.
If a trip to the Alps is on your mind at the moment then you’ll want to have a good look at this. These guides are very comprehensive and carry all the information you need to make informed choices about your trip, including: travel details, moving around the country, accommodation, day walks, treks, popular places and places where you can almost be sure to be alone!
These guides must be hell to write. Kev designed the concept of this series and a number of other writers have had a crack at producing one, but so far only Chris Townsend has able to deliver and still remain in one piece! The great achievement of these guides is they give you just enough information about a place or a walk for you to make more informed choices. I have used both the Pyrenees and the Scotland guides a lot!
Looking at the book — and talking to Kev — it’s clear that while this book was a mammoth task it was also a Labour of love. He told us that while he was writing he would start every day by looking forward to the short trip from the bedroom to his study and word processor. He knew he was going to have a great time remembering routes, places and people. I guess it’s not that often any of us can approach a word processor with that much enthusiasm!
Any how, if the Alps are you thing (or you think they may be), this is well worth checking out.
The Swiss Alps has 465 pages and over 90 detailed maps. It is designed with the beautiful clarity that we now expect from the Cicerone design team. It is a soft cover with a flap and costs £25. The ebook version has not been launched at the time of writing but I’m sure it won’t be too far behind.
More details, sample routes and so on can be found at:
The Swiss Alps, Cicerone Books
I recorded the usual fun and informative interview with Kev, and you can expect to see this on the Outdoors Station shortly (with a bit of luck).
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